List of English words of Dravidian origin

From unknown or disputed Dravidian languages

• Aiyo, a word used to express distress, regret and fear, perhaps from Tamil aiyō, Kannada ayyo, Malayalam aiyyo or Telugu ayyo, but perhaps from Sinhalese ayiyō.
• Betel, a leaf of a vine belonging to the family Piperaceae; from Portuguese betel, which probably comes from Tamil vettrilai or Malayalam vettila.
• Candy, crystallized sugar or confection made from sugar; via Persian qand, which is probably from a Dravidian language, ultimately stemming from the Sanskrit root word 'Khanda' meaning 'pieces of something'.
• Cash, physical money; possibly from Middle French caisse or Portuguese caixa, though sometimes linked to Tamil kācu/kāsu “small coin,” among other proposed origins.
• Coir, cord/rope, fibre from husk of coconut; from Malayalam kayar or Tamil kayiru. The origin of this word cannot be conclusively attributed to Malayalam or Tamil.
• Coolie, a labourer or slave, a South Asian person; possibly from Tamil cooli or Malayalam kooli "labour", or possibly from Koḷī "Gujarati people" in Gujarati.
• Cot, a bedstead or a portable bed; via Hindi from Sanskrit, which in turn may have come from a Dravidian source such as Tamil kattil /patukkai, Malayalam kattil, or Kannada Kaata.
• Cowry, the shells of certain sea snails, or the snails themselves; via Hindi and Urdu from Sanskrit kaparda, which may be related to Tamil kotu "shell".
• Dosa, a savory pancake-like dish made from rice flour and ground pulses; possibly from Sangam Tamil tōcai or from Kannada and Tulu dōse, from Malalayam dōśa, or from other Dravidian sources.
• Ginger, a fragrant spice; exact route from Dravidian is uncertain, but possibly from Old Tamil inchiver or Malayalam inchi
• Godown, synonym to warehouse; English from Malay, which in turn may have borrowed it from Telugu giḍangi or Tamil kiṭanku.
• Gunny, an inexpensive bag; from Sanskrit via Hindi and Marathi, probably ultimately from a Dravidian language.
• Hot toddy, beverage made of alcoholic liquor with hot water, sugar, and spices; from Hindi tari "palm sap", probably from a Dravidian language
• Idli, a south Indian steamed cake of rice, usually served with sambhar. From Malayalam and Kannada iḍḍali.
• Jaggery, coarse brown sugar made from palm and sugarcane; via Portuguese jágara probably from Tamil charkkarai/carkkarai or Malayalam chakkara/sharkkara or Kannada sakkare, having its origins in Sanskrit.
• Mango, A tropical fruit; origin probably from Tamil maangaay or Malayalam maanga
• Mongoose, a small carnivorous mammal from southern Eurasia or Africa, known for killing snakes; probably ultimately from a Dravidian language, with spelling influenced by the English word goose
• Mung, a type of bean; ultimately from Sanskrit mudga, which is the name of the bean and the plant, perhaps via Tamil mūngu "soak", or Malayalam mudra. Alternately, perhaps from mũg, the name of the bean in Hindi, which is not a Dravidian language.
• Orange, a citrus fruit, or a color named for the fruit; cognates exist in several Dravidian languages, Tamil naaram or Telugu naarinja and others.
• Pagoda, a religious building; etymology uncertain but perhaps influenced by Tamil pagavadi "house belonging to a deity".
• Pariah, a social outcast; partially from Tamil paṟaiyar and partially from Malayalam paṟayan, "drummer".
• Peacock, a type of bird; from Old English pawa, the earlier etymology is uncertain, but one possible source is Tamil thōkei "peacock feather", via Latin or Greek
• Sambal, a spicy condiment; from Malay, which may have borrowed the word from a Dravidian language such as Tamil Campal or Telugu.
• Teak, a tropical hardwood tree; called thekku in Tamil, thekku in Malayalam, Telugu teku, and Kannada tegu; via Portuguese teca.

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